Occasionally my forays into the green smoothie world are a bit scary.  Jumping in without a recipe is not always a good idea.  As I was searching for a smoothie recipe without bananas I stumbled upon a site with great green smoothie recipes.  Green Thickies.  This woman has invented a new genre of smoothie.  Check it out.  I can recommend several to try.

The Lemon Meringue Pie,  Cold and Flu Busting, Almond Milk Smoothie, Key Lime Pie, and Carrot Cake, are all good.  I didn’t care for the Creamy Citrus Fat Burner because I found that I don’t like grapefruit (after buying half a dozen).  Also, The Loch Ness smoothie is good if you cut down on the sunflower seeds.  And the Apple Pie smoothie is better if you don’t make it a thickie.  Just my opinion.  But I want to write it down so I don’t keep trying the same smoothies over again.  The great thing is that she has changed the way I make smoothies!  Using her basic recipe I can make a smoothie with ingredients I have on hand.

One important tip I learned while reading through these recipes is to stop adding ingredients.  I have a tendency to keep adding.  While I’m in the freezer for peaches I think I might as well add blueberries.  While I’m in the pantry getting coconut I think I should add some flax and sunflower seeds or maybe some protein powder.  When I’m done I have a blender full of not terribly tasty gunge.  I am trying to pick two or three flavors that complement each other and leave it at that.  This morning I made a peach, lime, coconut smoothie that was quite yummy.  Probably because I didn’t add the blueberries or spirulina like I wanted to.

I just made the Key Lime Pie smoothie again and it is so yummy! Here is the way I make it:

Key Lime Pie Smoothie

1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dates
2 cups baby spinach
2 bananas
juice and zest of 4 limes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup ice cubes

Blend the oats, seeds and dates with the milk until smooth. Next blend the spinach. Add bananas, vanilla, lime zest and juice. Add ice cubes last. Blend until smooth.